Daily Independent (Lagos)
Chesa Chesa
3 July 2009
Abuja — President Umaru Yar'Adua and his Deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, are to lose their gratuity of 300 per cent of basic salary, in part to tame the effect of the global economic crunch on country folk.
Their hardship allowance is also slashed from 50 per cent to 30 per cent. Aso Rock cancelled the gratuity because both men are entitled to pension for life in Section 84 (5) of the Constitution.
On Thursday, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) submitted to Yar'Adua details of the slash in his and other pubic office holders' allowances from July 1, expected to have "immediate effect on the economy".
He gave the directive for the wage cut February in response to the global economic crunch, and asked the RMAFC to trash out the nuts and bolts, which affect executive, legislative, and judicial officers at all tiers of government.
RMAFC Chairman, Hamman Tukur, who submitted the report to Yar'Adua at the Villa in Abuja, explained the allowance for each office was considered on its own merit before deciding whether to review it downwards, retain or cancel it altogether; hence, no unilateral reductions.
The report is in four volumes.
The first deals with allowances for federal executives and judicial officers; the second with state and council executives; three with the federal legislature, and four with state and council legislatures.
To be very fair, equitable, and just to all, Tukur said, the RMAFC did not review basic salaries, and confined itself only to the task of reviewing allowances and other benefits.
The number of official vehicles provided Senate President, David Mark, is reduced from eight to six; and that for House of Representatives Speaker from seven to six.
Senators' constituency allowance is down from 250 per cent to 125 per cent; House of Representatives members' from 150 per cent to 75 per cent.
Tukur said the country is categorised into zones for accommodation allowance, and the reduction is based on rent in each zone.
He reminded Yar'Adua that 53 per cent of the national wage bill of N1.3 trillion per annum is spent by councils, the 36 state governments (32 per cent), and federal (15 per cent).
His words: "The Commission was quite concerned with the high level of expenditure on the emolument of public and political office holders at the third tier of government which is adversely affecting the expenditure on service delivery and good governance.
"Subsequently, some allowances have been drastically reduced while others have been cancelled at the local government level.
"For example, accommodation and furniture allowances have been reduced by over 50 per cent at the third tier of government while allowances such as entertainment, Personal Assistants, severance gratuity et cetera, were altogether cancelled."
Tukur promised that the report and a draft Bill will be sent to the National Assembly to pass it as Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders Act.
He recounted that the last time the RMAFC reviewed salaries and wages was in 2007. At the time, he noted, foreign reserves amounted to $51 billion (and could support over 16 months of imports) the Excess Crude Account had over $41 billion, oil sold for more than $75 per barrel (pb), with output at almost 2.2 million barrel per day (bpd).
The RMAFC got inputs from stakeholders, including the Senate, House of Representatives, the judiciary, state Houses of assembly, media and Labour, the Economic Management Team, as well as federal executive bodies such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Tukur said the exercise was done in a manner that the new wages would be payable by all tiers of government. He added that economic indicators and macro economic variables were also considered, and commended the "true national spirit exhibited by most of the stakeholders."
This view was echoed by Yar'Adua who described the unprecedented pay cut as "no mean achievement" which "clearly shows that those holding various offices can respond and make sacrifices for the sake of this nation when asked to do so.
"I assure that all of us called to make this sacrifice are pleased, happy, and willing to do so as we found out when we consulted all stakeholders.
"This has provided examples for the future, we should not be dogmatic on anything that requires us to change as circumstances change, we should be able to change and make adjustments in the interest of our country."
Yar'Adua urged other institutions, including those in the private sector, to take a cue from the exercise since "the ultimate objective is that no one should lose their job because of the current economic downturn.
"Adjustment should be made where necessary; sacrifices should be made where necessary so that people should save their jobs.
"Unemployment is the greatest problem we have in this country, and no matter what problem we face, we should take measures to ensure that we do not aggravate this problem."
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